Rod-feeding chuck for automatic screw machines



May 19,1925. 1,538,638

G. J. KALBERER Rop FEEDING CHUCK FOR AUTOMATIC scREw MACHINES wig,

Paieniea May 19, 1925. f

UNITED 'STATES PATEN f OFFICE. g f

GEORGE J. IrALBEnER, or HAMILTON, y 01110.y

non-Femme oHUoxjFon AUTOMATIC sonnw MACHINES.

applicati@ inea Augusta, 192s. l serial no.` 556,357

To all whom t may concern: Y

Be it known that LGnoRGE J. KALBERER, a

citizen of the `United States, residing at Hamilton, in the county of Butler and State ofOhio, have invented'certain new and useH ful Improvements `in Rod-Feeding Chucks for Automatic Screw Machines, of which the following is a specification. 1

My invention relates to automatic screw machines and more particularlyto the stock feeding means by which the stock is intermittently advanced for successive machining operations.

As ordinarily constructed thereis provided within the feed spindle of the usual type of automatic screw'machine a reciprocatory feed tube carrying at its forward end a spring chuck or feed shell which consists of a tubular nozzle longitudinally slotted Vto form a series of `spring fingers which frictionally engage the stock rod extending through the feed tube and spindle.

' While such automatic screw machines are adapted to work upon stock of different diameters it is necessary tosubst-itute a dif-k I ferent feed tub-e or frictional' chuck foreach meanswhich is not only simple in contruc-` size of; stock. These feed tubes or frictional chucks are rather. expensiveao manufacture and are moreover subject toexcessive wear and undue slippage. ,i i

`The present invention contemplates the employment of a single feed shell for all sizesof stock within the capacity ofthe :fna-` chine and the employment within .such feed shell ofv interchangeable stock clutching tion but may be very cheaplyand inexpensively manufactured preferably upon the screw machineitself, and which will afford increased grasping power upon the stock to minimize slippage and by providing an eX- tended uniform bearing surface the wear upon such stock engaging means is minimized. In a simple` form this stock `feeding means consists of a split spring sleeve having a tendency to contract tight-ly upon the rod of stock in association' with two abutment collars which surround the stock rod at opposite endsof the grippingsleeve and en-A gage limiting stops within` the feed shell to transmit the movement of the feed shell in either` direction to such rod gripping` sleeve. The .gripping sleeve is preferably though not necessarily interiorly beveled at its ends and the abutment `collars are provided with f1corresponding; :tapered .bearing` surfaces in action, easily which afford a wedging action within the beveled ends of the sleeve to' expandtheA sleeve and relieve the tensionthereof "upon the stock whenever the stock meets with re` sistance to its longitudinal movement.

The object of the inventionis to simplify thestructure as well as the meansv and modeof operation of rod feeding'mechan'ism for intermittently advancing a rod through step `by step movement which will not only'be` cheapened in construction but will be more eiiicient in use, positive in operation, uniform* controlled and unlikely to get out ofrepair. i

A further object of the invention is to pro-` vvide a rod feeding devicewhich willbe sub' ject to minimum slippage andalso to -minimumwear.v f f I A further object of the invention is to providerod engaging means which may be economically manufactured 'for interchange` able use within astandard feed shell, to accommodaterod stock of different diameter.

With `the `above primary and other inciv dental objects` in view as will more fully appear inthe specification, the invention consists lof they features of construction, the parts and' combinations thereof, and the model of 1 operation, or. their equivalents as r hereinafter described and sety claims. v v j n In the accompanying drawings wherein is shown the preferred but obviously not necessarily the only "form of the embodiment forth i in the of the invention, Fig. .l is a longitudinal sectional view `through thek feeding` spindle of an automatic screw `machineillustrating the relation of the stock engaging means formingthe subject matter'hereof withl the other. operative parts of the machine.y FigsQ is a longitudinal sectionalfview of the feeding shell and work engaging parts therein.

plicable to yanyof the various screw machines mad@ by delzeet manufacturers ahah@ pres ent time,l for Vconvenience of'illustratien it has been shown embodied in the feeding spindle of a Cleveland screw machine. ln F ig. 1 of the drawings 1 is a hollow or tubular spindle mounted for rotation in bearings 2--2 and rotated by the driving gea-rs 3 which intermesh with corresponding gears upon a countershaft. At its forward end the feeding spindle .1. is provided with V an internally tapered nose or collet 4; within which @teursv the `Sufi-ne chuck' 5 which grips andA helds the rod Stock. during the machining Operation. 'The Chuck 5 is. longilldnallv slotted te alterni .a cortratble series of .Seguente which contracted into engagementwiththe rod bi1-.forward pressure Within the tapered, collet 4. The chuck 5 is pressed forward to effect its contraction upony the stock rods@ by the. reciprocation of .the chuck sleeve 7 mounted concentrcally within` the hollow Spindle l and actuated' forwardly by the pressure dQgS, 8., These pressure def-LS are actuated. 'by the sliding @one @controlled by', a Suitable .camupouthe machinel c Located within the chuck sleeve 7 and f concentric therewith is the reciproeatory .feeding tube l0 carrying et its, rear end the steered cellar 11 engaged by a cam .controlled yoke by Which the feedft'ube is. re-l ciprocated. The kfeed tube l() is` provided at its forward endv with a stock engaging means whichV grasps the` stock rod 6. and upon the forward movement ofthe feed tube during the peri-od of relaxation or dis.- engagementofthechuck 5 .carries the stock i rod 6forward inunison with thefeed tube to present the endy ofthev rod beyond the chuck jaws 5 preparatory to the next machining operation. Such. is the usual and customary operation of. automatic screw machine feeding mechanism which per se forms no part of the present invention.

In lieuof the spring gripper'ngerso-rdinarily provided at the forward end of the feed tube 16 there is provided in the present instance a. tubular shell or nozzle 12 having at.. its. extremity an inclinedflange forming an internal shoulder 13,. This shell 12 is not slotted asis usual but is continuous throughout its periphery. The shell- 12is sc rewthreaded onto fthe end of the feed tube 10 whichv projects-within the shell 12 with the end of thefeed-tube forming a second internal shoulder 111I in spaced 'relation with the terminal shoulder 13.

. Located within the shell` 12 in. proximate relation with the shoulders-13 "and 1.4 are two abutment collars 15 which` surround the stock rod 6. Alsosurrounding the rod 6 intermediatethe abutment collars 15is a split sleeve 16 of spring steel whichtends to tightly contract uponv and' grip the rod 6.4 The sleeve 16- may be flush at itsends and abut upon the lateral faces of the @01- lars 15 as shown in Figs. 4 and .5 .but the slepeye 16 is preferably flared or beveled at its end sas shownmat 17 in Figs. 2 and 3.

The abutment collars 15 are preferably rod whenk the rod isv otherwise held against movement by the chuckjaws 5 or by the limiting stop 19 byjwhich 4the protruding.

endof the stock necessary for each snccessive machine operation is measured and the advancenof the stock rod arrested. It Will be understood that the stock rod 6, the feed tube-10, the chuck 5, and. chuck sleeve 7 all rotate in unison with each other and with the spindle 1. v i

In. Fig. 1 the stock rod. 6 is shown at the limit of. its forward: or. feedingv movement and in engagement with the stop 19. The stop rod 19 is then withdrawn. and the protruding portion of t-he rod is operated upon by the vario-us tools to form it kto the. desired` shape and Lthe formed portion is 'continue to holdv the rod tightly within their grasp. During the machining operations the feedy tubel() is. retracted. Since the rod 6 is tightly held by the chuck jaws it cannot moverearward withv the feed tube consequently the feed tube and gripping sleeve 16 move relative tothe rod'. 6. During this rearward movement the internal shoulder 13 bearing u on the forward collar 15 draws such colar forcibly against the forward end of the gripping sleeve 16, overcoming its frictional engagement with the rod and4 sliding the sleeve rearwardly thereon. During such `cliiferential movement of the gripping sleeve 164 and the stock rod 6 the sleeve is slightly relaxed by the wedging effect ofthe conical face 18 of the forward collar 15 within the beveled extremity 17 of the sleeve. The sleeve is thus expanded by the conical face 18.,L under influence of the'strain induced by theresistance of` therod andthe relative movement.y o f the tube. Duringk such retrograde movement of the parts the rearward colter is carriedforward with the feed tubel under the. pushing 'influence of the rearwardi collar 1.5 upon. which the gripping sleeve abutsand Whichin turn is engaged and urged forward by the internal shoulder 14. So long as the resistance to the forward movement of the stock rod 6 is in` sufficient to overcomethe gripping tension of the sleeve 16 the rod will continue to advance in unison with the feed tube.

However, when the end of the rod 6 en gages the stop arm 19 and is arrested thereby, the kresistance offered by the stop arm being greater than the gripping tension' of the split sleeve 16 the latter will be pushed forward upon the rod 6to accommodate any further movement of the feed tube if such occurs. i However ordinarily the regulating cam will be adjusted to arrest the feed tube in proper time with the arrest of the rod .by the stop 19. In any event the 4sliding or slipping movement of the gripper sleeve in relation with the rod in either-direction is" facilitated and the gripping tension slightly relieved by the wedging or cammingV action of the coneface 18 within the beveled endV 17 of the sleeve. However, such camming action maybe entirely omitted by forming the abutting faces of the collars 15 and the ends of the sleeve 16 perfectly .flat or inplanes perpendicular to the axis of the main feed tube. ',While the invention has been shown yand described as applied to round stock it is to be understood that it is to be equally applicable to polygonal rods or bars in which case the split sleeve 16 will likewise 'be ofv polygonal form tol agree with the contour of the rod.

The gripper sleeves 16 may be made of any suitable length according to conditions of use, the size and weight of the stock operated upon, and other :governing factors. Such form of stock gripping deviceaords a frictional engagement of much greater extent than the usual spring fingers. The gripping effect is thus materially increased and at the same time by the extended uni* form bearing the wear upon parts is materially reduced.

The subject matter herein described is further shown and described in modified form in a companion application for Letters Patent Serial No.` 669715, filedv October 20, 1923.

. From'the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the the feeding particular features of advantage before enumerated `as desirable, but which ob-l viously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail Vconstruction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

`-While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention `is not limited to the specific details shown, but

that the means and construction herein dis closed comprises the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into efengaged upon longitudinal lmovement of the i tube to advance the stock therewith and pressure operated means for expanding the sleeve against its inherent tension to releasel its grasp upon the stock upon resistance of the stock to advance movement.

2. In a construction of the character scribed, a reciproca-tory feed tube through; which a rod of stock Y to be intermittently advanced extends, a pair of spaced collars loosely surrounding the rod of stock withinthe tube,'a pair of abutment shoulders car;

ried by the tube and engaging the extreme faces of thecollars,fand asplit spring sleeve grasping the rod of stock by the inherent spring tension of the sleeve, said split sleeve being interposed between the collarsand abutted by the mean faces thereof as the tube is moved to and fro.

3. In a construction of the character de- Y scribed, a reciprocatory feed` tube, through which a rod of stock to be intermittently* advanced extends, a spring sleeve independentV of the tube located interiorly thereof, and of less external diameter than the in' terior diameter of the tube grasping the rod of stock Within the tube by the inherent tension of the sleeve andan operative coni nection between the `sleeve `and tube by which the `sleeve and rodare advanced in unison so long as the rod is free to move andv thereafter the sleeve-is slidingly adjusted upon the rodagainst the frictional engage` ment of thesleeve with therod by the move` ment of the tube in relation with the rod.

4. In a construction of thecharacter described, a reciprocatory feed tube, through which a rodv of stock to be intermittently advanced extends, a `contractile ymemberindependent of said tube surrounding the rod of stoclnandengaged therewith by its contractile ytendency said rod and contractile member being capable of rotation independent ofthe feed tube and a pushing member carried by the tube and-abutting the contractile ,member to shift `said contractile member axially `and with it the rod so longv as the resistance to the movement of the rod the sleeve, a: pushing'member. carried by they tube and. engaging the sleeve to shi-ft, the, sleeve and. with' it the rod, andvmeans` for automaticallyvrelax-ing the engagement; of the sleeve upon the rod. upon. resistance toJ f the movement. ofA therod bei-ngencountered.

6.. In a. construction of. the characte1-f-described", a reciprocatory feed tube, through which a rod of stock to be intermittently advanced-extends, spring tensionmeans carrind by.l the tube frictional'ly engaging the:

rod. to advance the rod. when the tube is moved.' in one direction, and: means` for auto inati'cally: relaxingv the tension-4 of'. engaging means: uponv retrograde movement of the tube. 7i In., a construction.. ofthe character dciscribed, a reciprocatory feedtube, through which a` rod: of stoclbtoa be.interm-ittentlyy advanced. extends, a split spring'sleeve sur# rounding the rod'. and grasping it by theinherent tension of the. sleeve, an.. operative connection between. the sleeve. and tube by' which the-.sleeve and-engaged? rod, are advancedA in unison With themovement of the tube, andv means forI effecting expansion of the ysleeve to release its engagement upon the rod. upon retrograde movement of. the tube.

8. In. ay construction ofthe character; der scri-bed', a reciprocatorycfeedj tube, .through which a rod of stock to be, intermittemly.l advanced extends, a` split; Spring sleeve ksurf` rounding the rod; and, graspingy it by; theinbereut tension.v of the; sleeve, anvoperative connection between thesleeve and)` tube by which the sleeve and engaged rod are advanced inunison` with the movement o-f the tube, and means for effecting expansion of the sleevei-toreleaseits engagement upon the rod upon encountering excessive resistance to the movement of the-rod in eitherV direction.'

9;. In a construction ofthe character. de` scribed,l a reciprocatory feed tube,y through which a,- rodof stock to. be intermittently advanced extends, a split sleeve surrounding therod and. grasping it by. the inherentv tension of the sleeve, said 'sleeve being internally beveled at its opposite ends, a` pair of spaced colla-rs loosely sultroundingl'the.,

. red at opposite ends of. the sleeve, tapered inturned faces; upon saidv collars engaging. with the4 internally: lbeveled ends ofv thev sleeve to shift. said sleeve andzwithiit ,the rod.. in` longitudinali, directiomsaid: tapered; faces,

being adapted; upon, resistance toA l-ongie tu'dinall movement ofi the rod and, sleeve to enter Within the beveled ends of the sleeve and therebyexpand. the sleeve and relieve its' tensioned. 'engagements with the. rod, and. oppositely disposed abutmentl shoulders upon.v the tube: engaged; by the collars to.

tr,an;SmitLv the movement of the tube to sleeve. f

l0. a, construction. of. theecbaracter; de,`

which a rod. of stockA to, bev intermitten y adva-ncedextends, a split sleeve 'surroundingA they rod, and grasping it byf its-,inherent ten;-

s-ion, .and a; wedge memberpressed into, engagement. with the sleeve by the movement..

ofi theftu-be by wliicltthe sleeye and rod are advancedV so long as little; resistance is, off

fered; to:` such, movement,l the said Wedge member-acting byy its.. Wedgingaction. to, one` pand, thev sleeve,y and relieve its, tensionedv grasp., ofv the rod upon resistance tov move` ment of thev rod bein-g encountered.v

11;,In a construction wherein.' a rodof stock is intermittently advanced." througha reciprocatoryy feed tube in` unison with die mxavement of .said tube in one direction, characteraed by, an expansible and contractile grlppingsleeve grasping the rod of stock by inherent tension ofv the sleeve, and,

means for forcibly expanding said sleeve. against its inherent tension toy release the rod upon retrogrademovement of the. tube..

12.. In a construction wherein a. rod of stock. is intermittently advanced throught| reciprocatory feedl tube in'unison with the' movement of said tube-in one direction characterized by an expansible and contractible gripping sleeve grasping.4 the rod of stock by inherent tension of the sleeve, and pres.-

sure-operated meansfor forcibly expandn the sleeve to disengage it. from the ,ro l

when kunison movement of. the rod isresisted;

H13. In. a, construction wherein a rod of stockV yisintermittently advanced through a feed tube in unison with the movement of the tube in one direction, characterized. by an expansible and contractible feed chuck, clutching the rod of stock by its contraction thereon during, advance movement of the tube, and strain operated means for autos matically expanding: suchl feedv chuck 'to re lease itsy engagement upon the rod of stock during retrograde movement of the feed.

tube.

14. In a construction wherein a rod of stock is intermittently advanced. through a feed tube in unison with the movement of the tubel in one direction, characterized byv an expansiblei and contractble feed chuck,

and means for controlling the expansion and contraction o1 the feed chuck by the resistance of the feed rod to unison movement, whereby the inability ot the rod of stock to move with the chuck will effect a relative expansion of the chuck to release its engagement upon the rod. i

l5` In a construction of the character described, a reciprooatory `feed tube thru which a rod of stock to be intermittently advanced extends, a split spring sleeve surrounding the stock within the tube and grasping the stock by the inherent tension of the sleeve, the sleeve and tube normally movingin unison, the tube being capable of limited axial movement, independent of the sleeve upon `resistance to movement of the latter, and pressure operated means, eontrolled by such relative movement of the tube and sleeve for expanding the sleeve.

16. In a construction ol the character described, a reoiprocatory feed tube, thru which a rod o stock to be intermittently advanced extends, a springv sleeve independent of thetube grasping the rod of stock within the tube by the inherent tension of the sleeve and an operative connection between the sleeve and tube by which the sleeve and rod are advanced in unison with the tub-e so long as the rod is freeto move, the tube being capable of movement relative to the sleeve upon meeting resistance to the movement of the rod and pressure op- `erated means to expand the sleeve to effect the relaxation of the grasp of the sleeve upon the rod, the further ,movement of the i tube and sleeve being effected in unison andy ndegv'iendent of the rod.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd day of July A. D. 1923.

GEORGE J. KALBERER. Vitnesses:

M. A. CONRAD, E. J. WEIGEL. 

